A large outflow boundary from an overnight thunderstorm complex moved through the region during the morning and early afternoon hours of July 22. This prevented thunderstorm development until early evening when storms started developing.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS RNK wrote it up.
A large outflow boundary from an overnight thunderstorm complex moved through the region during the morning and early afternoon hours of July 22. This prevented thunderstorm development until early evening when storms started developing. Meanwhile, a line of thunderstorms approached the area from the west. Outflow from the first storms generated scattered clusters of storms across the northwest NC and southwest VA Piedmont up to the Blue Ridge, while the more organized line of storms moved into the mountains.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Blacksburg, VA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 22, 6:39 PM EST, 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 739 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2008 .SYNOPSIS... A DECENT COLD FRONT FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR WILL CROSS THE OHIO VALLEY AND MIDDLE ATLANTIC WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE BOUNDARY WILL SLOW DOWN SOMEWHAT AS IT APPROACHES SOUTHSIDE VIRGINIA AND THE EAST COAST. A REINFORCING SHOT OF COOLER AND DRIER AIR ARRIVES INTO NEXT WEEK...BEHIND ANOTHER COLD FRONT THIS WEEKEND. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... AREA REMAINS CONVECTION FREE ATTM IN THE WAKE OF THE EARLIER OUTFLOW/PASSING MCS AND ONLY WEAK INSTABILITY GIVEN DELAY IN INSOLATION. WITH THE ACTUAL COLD FRONT STILL IN THE OHIO VALLEY WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR ANOTHER IMPULSE TO RIDE UNDER THE UPPER TROF THIS EVENING AND INTO WV BY MIDNIGHT. MODELS JUMP ON THIS FEATURE AS WELL AS THE LEAD OUTFLOW AND IGNITE SHRA/TSRA OVER THE NW THIS EVENING BEFORE DIMINISHING OVERNIGHT. STILL IFFY AS TO COVERAGE WITH THIS S/W AND HOW FAR EAST ANY SHRA MIGHT MAKE IT. THUS ONLY BOOSTING POPS SLIGHTLY TO LOW LIKELYS NW AND CHANCE TO SLIGHT POPS ELSW THIS EVENING. NEXT ROUND OF SHRA LOOKS TO BE MORE ALIGNED WITH THE ACTUAL COLD FRONT TO THE NW LATER TONIGHT WHICH SHOULD ALLOW A DECREASE IN POPS OVERNIGHT. AGAIN WENT WITH A PERSISTENCE LOW TEMP FORECAST MORE IN LINE WITH THE WARMER MET MOS. UPPER TROF WILL FINALLY START TO PIVOT SE WED WITH THE COLD FRONT SLIDING EAST POSSIBLY REACHING THE PIEDMONT LATE IN THE DAY. HOWEVER MODEL TIMING WITH THE FRONT AND BAND OF PREFRONTAL DEEP RH IN QUESTION BUT CRITICAL TO THE DEGREE OF POTENTIAL SEVERE. FOR NOW WILL LEAN IN THE DIRECTION OF THE SLOWER MORE UNSTABLE GFS/CANADIAN SOLNS BUT NOT AS AGGRESSIVE WITH THE CONVECTION. GIVEN MORE HEATING...FORECAST ROABS SHOW INVERTED V TYPE PROFILE ESPCLY EAST WHERE EXPECT MORE HEATING. OTRW WILL KEEP GOING LIKELY/CAT POPS OVER THE WEST BY EARLY AFTERNOON...AND THEN EDGE HIGHER POPS EAST TOWARD THE FOOTHILLS/PIEDMONT BY EVENING. SLOW MOVEMENT PER UNIDIRECTIONAL FLOW ALSO SUPPORTS SOME HEAVY RAINFALL IF MULTICELL TSRA CLUSTERS DEVELOP. HIGH TEMPS TRICKY PENDING TIMING OF CLOUDS/SHRA SO PLAYED CLOSER TO THE COOLER MOS WITH 70S/LOW 80S FAR WEST...AND 85-90 EAST FOR NOW. && .SHORT TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/... WEDNESDAY COULD FEATURE STRNG TO SVR STORMS WITH ANOMALOUS UPPER TROUGH AND COLD FRONT APPROACHING. THIS FRONTAL PASSAGE RESEMBLES MORE OF A SPRING/FALL EVENT AS OPPOSED TO A SUMMERTIME EVENT. SHWS/TSTMS SHOULD END QUICKLY BEHIND THE FRONT WED NIGHT WITH SKIES CLEARING QUICKLY. THE NAM SEEMS TO BE SHOWING ITS BIAS BEING TOO DEEP AND STRONG WITH VORT MAXES...PLUNGING THE MAIN WAVE MUCH FARTHER SOUTH THAN THE GFS. WAS A LITTLE CONCERNED THAT ADDITIONAL SHWS MAY DEVELOP BEHIND FRONT...BUT AIR IS LIKELY TOO DRY FOR THIS TO OCCUR. WITH DEWPOINTS MIXING OUT THURS AFTERNOON...AND HIGH PRESSURE OVERHEAD THURS NIGHT...MIN T COULD FALL TO OR BELOW GUIDANCE MOST SPOTS. ALTHOUGH FRONT IS STRONG FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR...IT MAY STALL OUT JUST CLOSE ENOUGH FOR A SHWS OR STORMS TO DEVELOP IN THE EXTREME SE CWA THURS...BUT A BETTER CHC ON FRIDAY WITH INSTABILITY AND H7 MOISTURE BUILDING BACK NORTH FOR THE SAME AREA...ALTHOUGH THE OP GFS LIKELY IS OVERDONE WITH COVERAGE FRIDAY. && .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/... UPPER TROUGH OVER THE EAST WILL SLOWLY DEEPEN AND STRENGTHEN OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS...EVENTUALLY DISPLACING THE HEAT AND HUMIDITY AT LEAST FROM THE NW HALF OF THE CWA BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. WHILE THIS OCCURS...SHWS/TSTORMS SHOULD DEVELOP AHEAD OF IT THIS WEEKEND. A PREFRONTAL TROUGH WILL PASS THROUGH ON SATURDAY FIRST...WITH POSSIBLY MORE NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND STORMS ON SUNDAY WHEN THE COLD FRONT CROSSES. ALTHOUGH MANY COLD FRONTS HAVE PERISHED BEFORE CLEARING THE NC/VA BORDER...IF SOME OF THE LR MODELS VERIFY IN REGARDS TO THE AMPLITUDE OF THE UPPER RIDGE THROUGH SOUTH CENTRAL CANADA...THIS FRONT MAY ACTUALLY PASS FAR ENOUGH SOUTH TO BRING A NICE STRING OF NORMAL OR SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL TEMPS...AND DRY CONDITIONS FOR MUCH OF NEXT WEEK. && .AVIATION /00Z WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT WITH MVFR/IFR IN CLOUDS AND RAIN. AREAS OF IFR/MVFR FOG ARE ALSO POSSIBLE ESPCLY VALLEYS WHERE EARLIER RAINFALL OCCURRED. OTRW MAINLY VFR INTO TONIGHT OUTSIDE CONVECTION. COLD FRONT DROPS IN FROM THE NW WEDNESDAY WITH ONGOING SHRA/TSRA BAND OR QUICK REDEVELOPMENT OF CONVECTION LIKELY TAKING PLACE FROM WEST TO EAST. MAY INCLUDE SOME PREVAILING VSBY REDUCTION IN SE WVA IN THE MORNING OTRW RUNNING WITH CB MENTION BY MIDDAY FAR WEST. ADDED THUNDERSTORMS AFTER 18Z FOR MOST TAF LOCATIONS. CONVECTION LIKELY TO LINGER INTO WED EVENING AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH WITH DRYING CONDITIONS ON THU UNDER WEAK HIGH PRESSURE. THIS SHOULD ALSO KEEP VFR CONDITIONS ONGOING INTO LATE WEEK BEFORE ANOTHER COLD FRONT ARRIVES WITH ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND STORMS BY SAT OR SUNDAY. && .RNK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... VA...NONE. NC...NONE. WV...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...JH/RCS NEAR TERM...JH SHORT TERM...KM LONG TERM...KM AVIATION...JH/KK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 430 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2008 NCZ001>003-018>020-VAZ007-009>017-WVZ042>045-232030- ASHE-ALLEGHANY NC-SURRY-WATAUGA-WILKES-YADKIN-TAZEWELL-SMYTH-BLAND- GILES-WYTHE-PULASKI-MONTGOMERY-GRAYSON-CARROLL-FLOYD-MERCER-SUMMERS- MONROE-GREENBRIER- 430 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2008 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 727 IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM EDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...NORTHWEST NORTH CAROLINA...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND SOUTHEAST WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 1100 PM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM ANY STORMS THAT BECOME SEVERE IS DAMAGING WINDS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED LATER THIS EVENING. NCZ004>006-VAZ018>020-022>024-032>035-043>047-058-059-232030- STOKES-ROCKINGHAM-CASWELL-CRAIG-ALLEGHANY VA-BATH-ROANOKE-BOTETOURT- ROCKBRIDGE-PATRICK-FRANKLIN-BEDFORD-AMHERST-HENRY-PITTSYLVANIA- CAMPBELL-APPOMATTOX-BUCKINGHAM-HALIFAX-CHARLOTTE- 430 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA...CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTH CENTRAL VIRGINIA...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND WEST CENTRAL VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM ANY STORMS THAT BECOME SEVERE IS DAMAGING WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE PRIMARY THREAT FROM ANY STORMS THAT BECOME SEVERE IS DAMAGING WINDS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED LATER THIS EVENING.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
607 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0531 PM HAIL 3 NNW BAYNES 36.31N 79.32W
07/22/2008 E0.75 INCH CASWELL NC LAW ENFORCEMENT
&&
JJACKSONPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
608 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0546 PM TSTM WND DMG MONTVALE 37.38N 79.73W
07/22/2008 BEDFORD VA TRAINED SPOTTER
NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.
&&
KKOSTURAPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA
720 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2008
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0655 PM HAIL 6 N THAXTON 37.44N 79.63W
07/22/2008 M0.75 INCH BEDFORD VA PUBLIC
AT PEAKS OF OTTER
0708 PM HAIL 5 N THAXTON 37.42N 79.63W
07/22/2008 M0.88 INCH BEDFORD VA PUBLIC
ROUTE 43 BASE OF PEAKS OF OTTER
0715 PM HAIL 2 E DANVILLE CITY 36.58N 79.38W
07/22/2008 E0.88 INCH PITTSYLVANIA VA TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
CACCIAPAGLIASPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BLACKSBURG VA 759 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2008 VAZ009-015-230030- GRAYSON VA-SMYTH VA- 759 PM EDT TUE JUL 22 2008 ...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTHERN SMYTH AND NORTHERN GRAYSON COUNTIES... AT 754 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 3 MILES WEST OF SUGAR GROVE...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 23 MPH. THE STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...MOUNT ROGERS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA AND FLATRIDGE AT 805 PM EDT...ATKINS AT 810 PM EDT...AND COMERS ROCK AT 815 PM EDT. EXPECT SMALL HAIL AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...AND VERY HEAVY RAIN IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE MEDIA OUTLET FOR UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING SITUATION. AMS
The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 97 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:59 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was blown down. Damage values are estimated.
A tree was blown down. Damage values are estimated.
A tree was blown down. Damage values are estimated.
A tree was blown down on Route 63. Damage values are estimated.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in West Virginia in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in West Virginia, July 2008
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 125040, 125043, 125046, 125047.